1. Field of the Present invention
The present invention relates generally to a system and method for controlling mechanized irrigation machines and, more particularly, to a system and method for steering, adjusting and directing an irrigation machine using a 3D scanner.
2. Background of the Invention
Prior art irrigation machines have used buried wire and RF antennas, furrows, above-ground wires or cables, and/or GPS positioning to define proper the steering paths. The buried wire method is costly to install, and is subject to damage by lightning, rodents, and digging equipment. The buried wire method is also difficult to make path changes. GPS guidance utilizes costly equipment, and is dependent on satellite availability, reference locations, and can require continual software updates. In addition to each of these drawbacks, none of the prior art systems can dynamically react to obstacles such as trees, equipment, or personnel.
The purpose of a 3D scanner is usually to create a point cloud of geometric samples on the surface of the subject. These points can then be used to extrapolate the shape of the subject (a process called reconstruction). If color information is collected at each point, then the colors on the surface of the subject can also be determined.
3D scanners share several traits with cameras. Like most cameras, they have a cone-like field of view, and like cameras, they can only collect information about surfaces that are not obscured. While a camera collects color information about surfaces within its field of view, a 3D scanner collects distance information about surfaces within its field of view. The “picture” produced by a 3D scanner describes the distance to a surface at each point in the picture. This allows the three-dimensional position of each point in the picture to be identified. These devices are used extensively by the entertainment industry in the production of movies and video games. Other common applications of this technology include industrial design, orthotics and prosthetics, reverse engineering and prototyping, quality control/inspection and documentation of cultural artifacts.